I was overly good at playing the role of an adopted daughter 057, and soon the protagonist of this aura realized who it was.

‘This is Prince Jeremy’s presence, isn’t it?’

Prince Jeremy.

It seemed he had come to this place.

‘There wasn’t any message, though.’

But surely Jeremy wouldn’t cause a ruckus here or assassinate anyone.

It didn’t feel like he would do anything reckless.

‘Those who master the Storm Blade find it hard to hide due to their aggressive aura.’

So assassinations would be out of the question.

There wasn’t any grudge between the Storm Fortress and the Seaal Viscount House,

‘Then he must be here because of the princess.’

Zeno smiled faintly.

‘I should prepare tea.

Maybe put in some poison.

He thought for a moment but decided against it.

Meanwhile, Viola was astonished at the face visible outside the window.

“Prince Jeremy?”

She checked again, but the window was certainly there.

‘This is the seventh floor, isn’t it?’

The room where Viola was staying was on the seventh floor.

While there is indeed a method to fly using mana, that’s only for mages.

Jeremy was a swordsman.

‘What on earth?’

Beyond the window, Jeremy was smiling brightly.

It seemed he was saying, ‘Hurry and open up!’

When Viola opened the window, Jeremy jumped inside the room.

“Wow! That was fun.”

“What are you doing?”

Maintaining a relationship with Jeremy that was neither too far nor too close was the best choice.

Viola had concluded this and acted accordingly.

‘A rope?’

There was a rope hanging from Jeremy’s waist.

It looked like he had climbed up to the roof and came down using it.

“How about it? Happy to see me?”

“There wasn’t any official message.”

“Do friends need an official notice to meet?”

“Were we friends? And it’s 11 PM now.”

“Has it really gotten that late?”

Jeremy’s expression turned to one of surprise!

This wasn’t a joke; he genuinely didn’t know it was this late.

“I thought it was around 9.”

He awkwardly smiled while lifting the rope at his waist.

“I was so focused on preparing…”

“When did you even climb up to the roof?”

Jeremy waved his finger back and forth.

“Climb? I infiltrated! Climbing and infiltrating are different. It was quite tense!”

“…… Right, infiltrating.”

Jeremy said he arrived at the roof at 6 PM.

He took an hour to ponder how to make a surprise appearance.

Two more hours to hide and find the rope.

Then an additional hour and a half to infiltrate back onto the roof.

And so on.

“Why would you go through all that trouble? You could just have contacted the viscount’s house and entered through the main gate.”

“Because it’s a surprise visit!”

“Do you realize this is a highly problematic action diplomatically?”

In some contexts, he could be treated as an assassin, and even if not, it was clearly a huge breach of etiquette among nobles.

“The Storm Fortress is politically and diplomatically independent, so it’s fine.”

“Do you really think it’s fine?”

“Probably. Hehe. I might get scolded by my father though.”

Jeremy explained why he came here.

He was planning to explore a nearby ancient ruin, but coincidentally heard that Viola was visiting the Seaal Viscount House.

“I came to see a friend and say hello.”

“So why not use the main gate…”

“Because that ruin is a secret.

If I’m coming to talk about secrets, I can’t just waltz in. It can’t get out. Caution upon caution is my motto.”

Is he really going to get kidnapped out of curiosity?

Viola wanted to argue but decided against it.

It was clear that any logical discussion wouldn’t work here.

“What kind of ruins are we talking about?”

“I don’t know the exact name; it simply goes by the name of some crazy mage’s laboratory.”

“Why tell me if it’s a secret?”

“Because we’re friends.”

Jeremy’s expression was utterly pure.

You couldn’t find a trace of malice or ill intent; he was completely transparent.

With a sigh, Jeremy said,

“Princess Viola.”

“Yes?”

“Honestly, I find you annoying, don’t I?”

“Did it show?”

“Very much so.”

“Then could you leave? I’m on the brink of entering society, and I don’t want to be the subject of unwanted rumors—especially with you, Jeremy. Worst-case scenario!”

Jeremy scratched the back of his head nervously.

“Is it that bad?”

“Yes.”

It was utterly the worst.

He’s known as the minor storm and Prince Jeremy.

In the novel, he has a massive fan base, likened by the author to a ‘first-generation idol’ in the story.

He was bound to have troublesome, overly enthusiastic fans or would soon have them.

It was clear that getting caught up with him would be extraordinarily tiring.

“I didn’t think that far. I just wanted to say hi.”

Jeremy looked sulky.

‘Was I too harsh?’

So she answered him with something else.

“I was happy to see you too.”

“Really?”

Viola put on a social mask.

She had no intentions of getting close to Jeremy but didn’t want to completely turn away from him either.

She appropriately matched his enthusiasm and smiled suitably.

Viola and Jeremy moved toward the door.

Meanwhile, Jeremy talked nonstop.

“Do you know?”

“What?”

“Princess Viola is cuter than I expected.”

Especially when eating egg tarts!

She didn’t say that out loud.

“You have a unique taste.”

Viola was fairly aware of her appearance.

After possessing this body, the thing she did most was check her face in the mirror.

‘Not a speck of cuteness in this body.

It would’ve been nice if I were cute.

If only I had possessed a cute princess character like so many others in the romantic fantasy novels Han Ah-rin had read!

Just then, Viola caught sight of her reflection in the wall mirror.

‘Not cute at all.’

It would be a lie to say she wasn’t pretty, but pretty and cute were entirely different matters.

With just a little force in her eyes, she looked as if she possessed the ‘Killing Star’ talent she was born with.

“It’s true, you are cute.”

“Then let’s say I’m cute.”

“Honestly, many people say I look like an old soul, right?”

“Sometimes, yes.”

Even Hixson had once asked Viola if she was youthful.

Viola opened the door for him.

“Here. The door is this way, so go ahead.”

Outside the door stood Tundra.

His expression was exceptionally grim.

*

A few hours earlier.

Tundra came to his senses.

The first thought that crossed his mind was singular.

‘I miss her.’

Is this what a pet dog feels?

Is this what it’s like for a dog waiting for its owner to return?

He felt that way.

‘Why do I miss her?’

Although he dreamt of being a pet dog, he still wasn’t one.

‘Why do I want to see Viola?’

It was hard to rationalize the reason.

‘The reason is….’

Tundra rose from the bed.

His body ached all over, but he wasn’t too uncomfortable moving around.

The reason was…

In the story,

Tundra, set up as a rational male lead, was able to find a logical reason.

‘Because I want to be praised.’

Whenever Viola patted his head, it filled his heart with a warm, fuzzy feeling.

It wasn’t just a simple happiness kind of feeling.

It felt like a much deeper emotion.

A subtle and complicated feeling that was hard for Tundra to define himself.

‘Praise. I want it.’

He got up and headed toward the hallway.

‘Where’s my master….’

Tundra sniffed the mana in the air.

Viola was born with the ‘Killing Star’ talent, and wherever she stayed or passed by, there remained the distinctive scent of blood-like mana.

To Tundra’s eyes, it looked like a path.

‘That way.’

He stood in front of the door where Viola was staying.

He hesitated for a moment before the door.

‘She will give me praise, right?’

Thinking about it, it was a bit too late.

Is it okay to seek her out at this time?

The rational male lead found a logical reason.

‘I’m a dog.’

A dog wouldn’t be bound by time when visiting its owner.

A dog is a dog.

Not a person.

He thought there was no need to be constrained by human etiquette.

After all, his master had told him to behave like a dog.

So he did not suppress his desire to see her and to be praised.

Just then, voices came from inside.

“Princess Viola is cuter than I expected.”

“You have a unique taste.”

“It’s really true. You are cute.”

“Then let’s say I’m cute.”

“Honestly, don’t you often get called an old soul?”

“Sometimes, yes.”

Viola’s voice was notably higher than usual.

It was a much brighter tone than when she spoke to him.

‘Master?’

He realized it was clearly a male voice.

‘That voice is… Jeremy’s voice.

Tundra unconsciously clenched his fist.

Tundra had gone through numerous conflicts before coming here, eventually seeking Viola out with the reasoning of ‘I’m a dog.’

To receive praise.

To have Viola pet him.

‘Jeremy is a person, unlike me. Moreover, he knows the etiquette of the nobles.

For reasons he couldn’t quite understand, he felt angry.

He only had to control the bubbling anger for a very brief moment.

‘Huh.’

Taking a deep breath helped him feel better.

The rational part of him felt he needed to find a reasonable justification.

‘The noble prince disregarded etiquette and sought out my master at this late hour.’

He was angry due to such shameless behavior.

That’s how Tundra thought.

‘But…

The master’s voice didn’t seem angry.

If the master isn’t angry, then there’s no justification for him to be mad.

‘Therefore, I can’t be angry.’

Logically thinking, that was indeed the case.

He couldn’t express his anger, nor could he feel it.

There were no justifications, no reasonable grounds that could convince the other.

‘But why am I angry?’

He didn’t even know why he was upset that Jeremy had come to converse with Viola alone. He then gave up on thinking further.

Viola had taught him.

‘Humans must ponder deeply, while dogs don’t need to.’

So he decided to just accept it.

For reasons unknown to him, he was very angry.

But at that moment, the door opened, and Viola’s voice rang out.

“Tundra? What brings you here?”

“I came to report that I have completed my mission.”

Jeremy waved his hand.

“Oh? Tundra! Hello! Good to see you. I’m Jeremy. We’ve met before, right?”

“I don’t feel delighted. And were we close enough to throw politeness out the window?”

“I thought we were.”

“Not even close.”

Jeremy scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

Tundra averted his gaze from Jeremy and continued.

“I have completed my mission perfectly, and I came here to receive praise.”

“Okay.”

Viola looked at Tundra.

Tundra’s shoulders and lips were slightly trembling.

‘When my elder brother was angry, he acted just like that.’

Kang Han-jun never showed he was angry.

At least not in front of Han Ah-rin.

Yet, Han Ah-rin had always managed to notice when Kang Han-jun was angry.

Because when he was mad, his shoulders and lips would always twitch.

“I’ll praise you. Come here.”

Tundra stepped closer and knelt down on one knee.

Viola placed her hand on Tundra’s head.

Then she gently patted Tundra’s head.

“Is this what you wanted?”

“Yes.”

Tundra felt a bit more at ease.

Not just a bit, but he was openly relaxed.

The anger he felt melted away like snow.

Could it be that this is what a pet dog feels, blissfully happy under the guardian’s touch?

“It doesn’t seem like it.”

Viola frowned.

“You, why were you angry?”

Tundra’s body twitched.

He thought he hadn’t shown it at all, but how did she notice?

“I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t ask to hear you say sorry. I’m asking why you were angry.”

“…….”

Viola already felt something was off.

In reality, Tundra hadn’t expressed his anger at all.

She just threw the question out there. Why were you angry?

And he replied with an apology.

It appeared he was admitting to being mad.

‘Why does he express his anger in the same way as Kang Han-jun?’

It was confusing in many ways.

Acting like Kang Han-jun despite not being him, he also had all of Kang Han-jun’s quirks.

“I’m asking. Why were you angry?”